Only God

After all, the world created by the afterlife town was all too real.

"No, it's not that we don't believe we're dead, the problem is, the problem is..."

Veldor repeated "the problem is" several times, looking extremely agitated,

"The problem is... we are True Believers, we shouldn't have come to the Netherworld, after death one either goes to Hell or to Heaven, how could we possibly end up in the Netherworld?"

When Veldor's words hit his ears, Wally was stunned for a moment.

This little boy, of course, had heard about the existence of the True Believers, and knew in their legends, after death they would not go to the Netherworld, but to Heaven or Hell instead.

It was over, he had blown his cover.

Wally suddenly became nervous, Slaier had warned him beforehand, he must not blow his cover, he must not let those people discover that they were actually not dead so soon.

But soon, after rapid thought, Wally calmed down.

What's the best way to handle blowing your cover?

Of course, to lie.

To tell a lie so convincing that those people would believe it.

Realizing what to do, Wally quickly organized his thoughts, and moments later, with a face not red and heart not racing, he explained:

"You're right, True Believers indeed either go to Hell or to Heaven after death, and do not come to the Netherworld.

But you should also know, some True Believers are converted from other religious faiths, meaning, before believing in the Lord, they believed in other gods.

About such True Believers, how do you say they should be dealt with?

The great Death God Nakbet was also puzzled, so He sought counsel from His father, and they eventually came up with an answer, to let these converted True Believers live in the Netherworld for a while, and then through the judgment of the Law, decide whether they go to Hell or Heaven."

Wally spoke with detail as if he were painting a picture with his words, his ability to lie was simply sublime; even when Veldor and Gomu pressed for details, he could concoct answers on the spot.

Veldor and Gomu looked at each other, Wally's explanation seemed somewhat reasonable; they went from complete disbelief to a mixture of doubt and trust. And most importantly, they were indeed converts.

Seeing the wavering in the two men, Wally adopted a stern stance and said:

"Whether you believe it or not, I have explained as much as I can, I have done my duty by the great Death God.

After living here for a while, you will know how correct what I said was."

Wally's firm attitude made Veldor and Gomu have no choice but to accept the reality, willing or not, they had arrived in the Netherworld.

"Alright, I hope you can tell me what we should do next to get to Heaven,"

Gomu asked proactively.

Of course, Wally wasn't going to tell him that he had yet to make up that part, so he said:

"With your current status, you are not yet qualified to know, in any case, you just wait patiently."

After finishing, Wally did not offer any more explanations, instead, he began showing the two around the afterlife town, introducing them to various residents, and arranging living quarters for them, handing out the currency of the afterworld, urging them to enjoy their afterlife.

Having settled the two True Believers, Wally quickly left, and at that moment, he again felt restless and troubled.

"Slaier, I actually let two True Believers in!"

Running to the Temple of Lies and Deceit, Wally shouted at the Divine Statue in panic,

"Now I've temporarily placated them, but, but... what if our ruse is exposed?!"

Hearing Wally's shouts, Slaier slowly emerged from behind the Temple, holding a cluster of grapes, leisurely tasting their juicy sweetness.

"This is the biggest mistake! I'm going to ruin your plan!"

Seeing Slaier, Wally rushed over and then fell to his knees in a panic.

"Get up, child, don't dirty my clothes, get up."

Slaier carelessly spat grape seeds towards his own Divine Statue,

"It's nothing."

Hearing this, Wally exclaimed in shock,

"It's nothing? Those True Believers are supposed to go to Heaven or to Hell after death, and now they've come to the 'Netherworld,' how is that nothing?! I've already ruined your plan!"

"Ruined?"

Slaier scoffed,

"No, I find this quite interesting,"

Wally nearly dropped his jaw upon hearing this.

"I forgot to warn you not to deceive the True Believers, but now that I think about it, I'm glad I forgot. The arrival of the True Believers will make this afterworld far more entertaining."

Slaier spoke slowly, his eyes revealing anticipation,

"I've come up with many more amusing ideas and will soon put them into practice, presenting a wealth of content to this group of... 'players'."

Wally swallowed nervously and nodded his head in a somewhat panicked agreement.

Then he asked,

"So you're saying, we just leave those two True Believers alone?"

Slaier answered matter-of-factly,

"What else? The more you cater to them specially, the more they'll doubt whether they have actually died."

Hearing this, Wally finally relaxed, understanding what he had to do.

"Just a reminder though, aside from those two, don't let any other True Believers in, or it won't be fun anymore."

Having said this, Slaier cleaned the grape seeds off his Divine Statue, turned around, and walked back into the depths of the Temple.

............

Veldor was starting to doubt he had died.

Despite Wally's rational explanations, they were still unable to convince Veldor.

His godfather had passed away not long ago, and it was only later that he converted and became a believer. Could it be that his godfather had spent some time in the Netherworld before ascending to Heaven?

If that were the case, then whatever happened must have left some trace.

However, Veldor had spent days searching the afterlife town without any sign of his godfather.

"If my godfather had come here, I would have found him by now. That Wally must be lying,"

Veldor said to Gomu.

"Why don't we just ask that Wally directly?"

Gomu suggested.

Veldor shook his head,

"There's not enough evidence yet, asking him now will only alarm him.

I can already guess how he would answer if I confronted him with this.

He'd say: 'The Netherworld is too vast, this is just a small part of it, my godfather is in a different region.'"

After speaking, Veldor looked at Gomu and asked,

"Do you really believe we've died? That we've truly come to the Netherworld?"

Gomu wavered,

"I'm starting to believe it.

Those bandits killed us, and the pain was so real...

And the environment here, it's just like the Netherworld of legend. This must be the Sighing Plain of the Netherworld."

Gomu was right.

Despite many doubts, there was also a vast amount of evidence that this corner of the world was part of the Netherworld.

For example, Veldor and Gomu's senses had dulled since entering death, their bodies had become as translucent and ethereal as ghosts, displaying a faint white glow.

Another example is that the other inhabitants here firmly believe they are dead and that this really is the Netherworld, and they sigh and lament day and night.

Moreover, the sky is always gloomy, the earth barren without a single hair, skeletons are scattered everywhere, dark forests encircle the town, and they can even hear the snoring sounds of a three-headed dog in the distance.

Many such examples existed, all signs indicating that this place was indeed the Netherworld, a realm created by the Death God Nakbet.

What else could this place be, other than the Netherworld?

Besides, almost everyone in this afterlife town believes they are truly dead and have arrived in the Netherworld, only the two of them don't believe. Could it be that everyone else is wrong, not the two of them?